Medical, Dental Offices Destroyed in Gilroy Fire

Chronicle Staff Report

Published
4:00 am PDT, Wednesday, September 3, 1997

1997-09-03 04:00:00 PDT GILROY -- A fast-moving attic fire destroyed a large complex of medical and dental offices in central Gilroy yesterday, causing damage in excess of $2 million and sending one Santa Clara County firefighter to the hospital with a slight burn on his neck.

The fire broke out at about 12:30 p.m. in a 1950s office complex at Princevalle and Second streets and quickly swept through the 12,000-square-foot building's common attic space, according to a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry.

The response escalated to five alarms, but the building with 10 offices was declared a total loss by the time the fire was contained at 3:30 p.m.

There were people in the offices when the fire started, but they all escaped unharmed.

"Several people called, and then boom, everybody called, saying it was throughout the complex," the spokeswoman said.

Authorities did not know what had caused the fire, but it was under investigation.